Uncover Me (17 page)

“She’s at my place.”

“Why?” Ma looked confused by my statement.

“I didn’t want to scare her right away.” I sighed, knowing I’d just opened a giant can of “what the fuck,” Gallo-style.

“What the fuck!” Izzy yelled.

Yep, there it is.
“She wanted to let me spend time with my family without her today. She’s resting since we got home late last night. I didn’t want to overwhelm her.”

“We’re not overwhelming. We’re loveable,” Suzy said, hiccupping as she scraped her plate clean.

“She’s not used to a family like ours.”

“What type would that be?” Pop asked, crooking an eyebrow at me.

“Pop, she has no one. No parents. No one. So yeah, we’d be overwhelming.”

Ma gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. “No one?” she asked, shaking her head.

“I couldn’t leave her behind. I love her too much. She kept me sane.”

“She can take all the time in the world, baby.”

“Thanks, Ma.” I smiled, hoping it was over, but I’d thought wrong.

“What’s her name?” Joe asked.

“Angel.” I smiled, happy that I’d used the right name.

“Angel sounds tough. We could use another tough chick around this table.”

“Bitch be trippin’,” Anthony mumbled, and was quickly slapped in the back of the head by Joe. “Ma, you’re going to let him treat me like that? He’s hit me at least twice at the table.”

“Yeah, honey. You deserved it, though.” She smiled.

“What’s Angel do?” Suzy asked, taking a sip of water.

“She’s going to go to school,” I blurted out, because for fuck’s sake, we hadn’t even discussed her plans.

“I can’t believe they let you bring her with you, son. Isn’t that risky?” Pop said, eyeing me with curiosity.

“Yeah. They declined my request to speak with her. I quit on the spot and went to her. She came with me blindly, Pop. She has no one on this earth but me. How could I not bring her with me?”

“Do you love her?” Ma asked, her devilish smile reaching her eyes.

“Yes,” I replied, shocked at how easy I could spill my guts to my family.

“You can’t go wrong by following your heart, Thomas. You’ve always been a good judge of character. If you think she’s the one and worth the risk, I’ll trust in your decision.” Her smile grew wider. “Plus, that means more babies!”

“Jesus,” I groaned. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Ma. One step at a time.”

“Bring her next time. I really want to meet her.”

I nodded, hoping that she’d be ready to face the group next weekend.

“But we’ll wait.”

“Wait for what?” Mike asked as he and Mia walked back in and took their seats. Their faces were flushed, like they’d just had a good workout.

“Work
things
out?” Suzy asked, giggling and shooting Mia a look.

“We’ve agreed to disagree,” Mike answered, and cleared his throat.

“I’m sure you did.” Suzy chortled, unable to control herself.

Mia just blushed, keeping her eyes downcast as she picked up her fork and began to eat again. “I’m famished,” she said between bites.

“I’m sure you worked up quite an appetite,” Joe responded, and as soon as the words left his mouth, Suzy hit him in the chest. He didn’t budge, but he stared at her hand like it was a bothersome fly. “Sugar, hit me again and see what happens.”

“That right there is sexy,” she said, batting her eyelashes before hauling off and punching him in the shoulder.

He caught her wrist, holding it in front of his body. “I warned ya.”

“I’m getting tired, Joey. Will you help me lie down upstairs?” she asked, a small grin on her lips.

“I’ll be right back. Let me help Suzy upstairs.”

Everyone smiled at each other, knowing that was bullshit. Those two were going to be doing the nasty in my parents’ house and they didn’t seem fazed.

As they walked out of the room, I looked at my ma. “You’re okay with that?” I asked, motioning toward the lovebirds climbing the steps.

“I remember being pregnant quite fondly, actually. So yes, I’m okay with it.” She turned to my father and smiled, grabbing his hand and giving it a squeeze.

“Bleh,” Izzy said. “I swear to God, every time I come here, you two have to talk about sex. I can’t get the vision out of my head.”

“Baby girl, how do you think you got here?” Pop asked, staring at Izzy.

“I don’t need a reminder. The mental image is disturbing. You’re lucky I’m not a nun.”

“They’d kick your ass out,” James howled, slapping the table with his hand.

“Shut up,” she hissed.

“Say it again and I’ll help you lie down,” he replied, the corner of his lips twitching.

“Everyone needs to stop talking about sex. Jesus,” I croaked, wanting to bang my head on the table. “Dinner talk sure has changed around here.”

“Yes, baby. Life changes.” Ma looked at me with sadness in her eyes.

I felt her comment. Although it was innocent, it cut me deeply. She had no idea exactly how I felt, but there was so much truth to her statement. Life had changed. The Gallos had continued, grown, and evolved. I’d fucking missed it all.

Chapter 14

My life felt surreal. One minute, I thought Blue was gone forever and I’d been left to a dead-end life with no hope for change. Then
wham!
He was back and asking me to run away with him.

My head had spun when he’d told me the truth about himself. I’d never had an idea that he was an undercover cop and not a true biker. The last thing I would’ve thought was that he had an entire family, a huge house, and a different life altogether.

We all hide bits of ourselves, things we don’t want others to know, but I hadn’t thought that this was what he’d kept hidden from me. My secret was my full name. No one knew it. I kept that shit hidden away, the only thing I could keep just for myself. They saw my body, but they didn’t know all of me. I knew it was stupid, but when you take your clothes off for a living, you want to keep something from the masses. At least I did.

Besides my mom, whom I barely spoke to, and my dad, who was now deceased, no one knew the real me—no one besides Thomas. My mom didn’t give a shit about me. She never had. It was all about becoming an old lady and hopping in the bed of her next victim. When the members of the MC had been arrested, she hadn’t even bothered to call me. She’d vanished too, probably on to her next victim.

I sat on the couch, riffling through a magazine, as Thomas made a phone call to James. I’d had enough sitting around since I’d arrived here five days ago. I couldn’t remember a day in my life when I hadn’t worked. It was what I did; it was who I was. But not anymore.

Stopping on a page, I stared at an article about education. Teaching would be an amazing career, filled with rewards and children. I wanted to do something that felt like I was making a difference. My only fear was that someone would find out about my past and use it against me. How horrifying would that be if, at conferences, a father walked in and recognized me? The thought of it turned my stomach and had me flipping the page.

“Yeah, I think it’s a great idea,” Thomas said as he walked behind me and placed his hand on my shoulder. Giving it a light squeeze, he continued to speak. “I think we should get a business plan together as soon as possible.”

I looked up, smiling at him. I was envious of their ability to pull shit together. I had a world of possibilities, but each one made me freeze up with panic. Every job and career had pitfalls, but it all came back to being recognized. It was stupid, really, because the likelihood was low, but I couldn’t shake the fear.

“Come over and we can discuss it further and maybe grab a bite to eat.” Sitting next to me on the couch, he pulled my magazine down and smiled at me. It was warm and genuine, and it made me feel instantly calm. He had that ability. Then he covered the phone and whispered, “Is that okay, Angel?”

I nodded, not minding a little company. Plus, I could use a little change of scenery. I had become used to a lot of people around, and this week, Tommy and I had lain low. Now I was ready to bust out of the house. Company would be fabulous, even if they were only going to talk business.

“Izzy?” Thomas asked James, his eyes darting to mine. Meeting his sister, the one I’d heard a lot about, would probably be best one on one. If she hated me, at least I’d know before having to be subjected to the entire family. “Yeah, bring Iz. The girls can get to know each other,” Thomas said, leaning back in the couch and setting his hand on my foot.

Stroking the top of my foot with his thumb, he continued to talk business and plans. I tried to tune it out, silently freaking out about meeting a member of his family.
Fuck. I can’t cook either.
Maybe we could order a pizza or something, because cooking for an Italian family wasn’t something I felt comfortable with now—and I probably never would.

After ending the call, he tossed the phone on the loveseat, giving me his full attention. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

Turning his body, he grabbed my feet and placed them in his lap. Continuing his light stroke, he looked at me with soft eyes. I loved the blue. I could get lost in the endless shades that changed slightly every day.

I closed the magazine, dropped it to the floor, and let myself sink down in the couch. “Yeah. I have to meet your family sometime. I figure if she hates me, the rest of the family will too, and at least we’ll know ahead of time.” I stared at my hands, which were resting against my abdomen.

“Angel,” he said, now gripping both of my feet in his large hands. “Look at me.”

I raised my eyes to him but didn’t dare speak. His mouth was set in a firm line, devoid of playfulness and joy.

“They’re going to love you. I told them a little about you on Sunday. My parents were overjoyed, and my siblings were curious.”

“Please tell me—”

He held up his hand. “I would never. They know the basics. That I met you while undercover and that I’m in love with you. They can be overwhelming, but they’re going to love you as much as I do.”

His words made my insides warm. Professing his love and the future love of his parents had my body humming with excitement.

“Will Izzy like me? Fuck. Sisters can be the hardest to impress.”

He laughed, brought my foot to his mouth, and touched his lips to the side. “She’s going to flip when she meets you. My sister has always hated having so many brothers, so she’ll look at you as a possible trump card to equalize the males in the room. She’s loud and talks her mind, but I have no doubt my little sister will embrace you with open arms.”

“I can’t cook.” I felt like I was making excuses to back out of the evening I’d just agreed to.

“We’re going to order Chinese. No cooking tonight for either of us.”

“But isn’t that against the family rules or something?”

He held out his hand to me. “Come here, Angel.”

I didn’t hesitate. Sitting up, I crawled into his lap, resting my head on his shoulder. He held my body, one arm behind my back and the other clutching my legs as he stroked my knee.

“We don’t have rules. The only things that are required in this family are love and devotion. My ma is the one who does the cooking, and I’m sure she’d teach you someday if you’d like that. Tonight we’ll go out for Chinese. I don’t want to waste the evening cleaning the kitchen and all that shit. We’re going to have some fun tonight.”

“Okay,” I whispered, tilting my head to stare into his eyes.

Planting his lips against my forehead, he inhaled deeply, giving me a gentle kiss. “Don’t ever fear anything when you’re with me. I’ll never do anything that will make you uncomfortable. If you don’t want James and Izzy to come over, just say the word and I’ll cancel it.”

I didn’t want him to do that. I had to get over the hump. Start meeting the family and crawling out of my safety net of this house and the cocoon we’d lived in this week.

“No, I’m really okay with it.” Even if my insides were a jumbled mess of nerves, I knew it was the right time.

“Do you want to meet my family Sunday? I know my ma would be so happy to meet you.”

My lips trembled, and the thought of it made my eyes water. “I don’t know,” I whispered, bringing my hand up to rest against his cheek. I swiped my fingers against his freshly shaven skin, enjoying the closeness.

“Let’s see how tonight goes. Just promise me you’ll think about it.”

“I promise,” I said, bringing my lips to his chin and peppering him with kisses.

“What time are they coming?” I asked, still in my pajamas even though it was almost two in the afternoon.

“Five,” he replied.

When he adjusted my body, I felt his cock harden underneath my ass. Wiggling my bottom, I made him groan and make another adjustment, which resulted in his almost lifting me from his legs.

“Five? Fuck, that’s early for dinner, love.”

“Yeah, but we’re going to talk and then go to dinner later.”

My mouth formed an O. I was happy that we’d be going to a restaurant. “Well, that gives us a couple of hours to waste.” I smiled up at him, giving him a sexy wink.

“Angel, when I get to feast on your body, it’s never a waste.” He stood, lifted me in his arms, and headed for the stairs.